The Lost Boy
by The real dark Dweller
Summary: Hyrule on the brink of death, the hero nowhere to be found, Zelda has many trials to face before her 21st birthday when she becomes Queen. Though the search of her hero has yet to be successful, she finds a child, a slave who captivates her heart. Cursed with the Triforce of Courage, will this child be able to save Hyrule? Or will Zelda be forced to give her hand to the evil Beast?


The dream was always the same, it was dark, cold, the stench of death wafting in the air, the light tapping of rats running against the floor as the inhabitants tried to sleep through the chill. Beneath the death and plague, the smell of heavy dust and sand carried through the air choking her lungs and burning her throat. The anxiety bubbled across her chest sending ripples of ice down each limb, the terror seizing every nerve in her body. Princess Zelda couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't remember what to do in a situation like this. It felt so real, yet at the same time it almost seemed as if she was disconnected, living as someone else. She peered up to the iron gated door before her, the tiny room she sat in was made solid, she couldn't see any of the other prisoners, but she could hear them. Their ragged breathing, the occasional coughs, the sobbing in the distance, it only fed into her uneasiness.

Zelda tried to stand but found she couldn't, pinned back by an unseen force, yet she was not in any bindings whatsoever. A faint thud could be heard, it seemed to come out of nowhere, just a faint barely audible thump, over and over again getting louder and louder with each passing second. As the thuds grew, the walls seemed to tremble and crumble slightly. Zelda's breath hitched in her throat and she sat in horror at the realization those were footsteps and they were coming for her. She couldn't explain it, but the absolute dread signified the truth, whoever made these steps was angry, and it somehow was her fault.

The young princess sat on the floor, wide eyed and still, afraid to even breathe, that maybe the person would leave her alone if she sat quietly. The thudding grew louder and louder, the dungeon seeming to grow silent and quieter as the inhabitants all shared the same horrified silence as their master walked through the halls.

Just as the footsteps came to a halt, a dark shadow fell upon the princess and she realized she couldn't look up to the eyes of the person no matter how hard she tried. Her skin was cold, covered in a thin layer of sweat, her body trembling and twitching in nervousness and fear, Zelda had never felt so terrified in her life. Just as she started to look up, she saw the individual open the door and raise their arm, their dark fingers wrapped around an emerald studded whip. The tail swung in the air before it headed right for her and-

"No!" Zelda shot up in her bed, her heart pounding wildly as if it was about to leap from her chest. She gasped and clutched her stomach, she could feel it, the sting of the whip. Though she had never been struck by one, she knew what it felt like for reasons she didn't quite understand. When she looked there was no blood, no welt, nothing, yet the pain still lingered. It tormented her, dancing across each nerve like a demented ballad. At once Impa appeared at her side, the Sheikah warrior once again showing her kind side to her normally rough exterior.

"Your highness, are you alright?"

"It happened again... I was there." Zelda said timidly. "Though this time the person struck me. It was so real. I could feel it." Her fingers slid across her stomach once again searching for the welt that wasn't there.

"It was only a dream princess."

"I suppose..." The young woman turned and stood stepping to her window shrouded by thick velvet curtains. She peeked our to her kingdom, the sun just rising cast shadows across the town. It was always refreshing looking over Hyrule at this hour. The first cucco chirping awake in the distance, the first few shopkeepers put to their stores, and a nice cold breeze sweeping over the land at the start of a nice fall morning. The world seemed so at peace, yet there was the fear. In the darkness, beyond the holy land, and evil dwelled, one that couldn't be defeated without the one who could draw the holy blade. But the hero was nowhere to be found.

"I will start the reports of the day your highness." Impa stated as she pulled out a small stack of papers. "Along with the usual, there are a few new problems at hand. Kakariko is reporting enhanced activity on Death Mountain and had to shut down the passage up the mountain. We have lost contact with the Gorons and Lake Hylia has a pressing matter, the flow has stopped and the river is draining effecting Zoras Domain. Our sources also report that the forest has lost another three percent of its life, the forest is decomposing."

"I see..." Zelda sighed. "Any report of the hero?"

"No. And our troops have been vigilant checking every man, woman and child for the mark of the hero. The only place we cannot check is the Lost Woods. Also the Gerudo King requests to come visit you as soon as possible, preferably before the coronation."

The young princess couldn't help the snort. "Great so among all of this, I am supposed to play friends with the one who created these problems?"

"It is for the better. We cannot fight an army of that size. And you are not powerful enough to disband the Triforce or Power alone."

"I know." Zelda grumbled. "That is why we need to push our efforts to find the Triforce of Courage. I guess I will get ready. The first task at hand will be to Lake Hylia. Get a small party in order if you would."

Impa nodded and stepped off to her task at hand.

**Chapter One  
The Trash in the Lake**

The small party left off to the Lake across Hyrule. They made great time considering the amount of danger in the land. Great disappearances, deaths of citizens, even the most experienced guards mysteriously gone overnight. As soon as they arrived the damage was noticeable. The lake had drained, it seemed to be getting lower with each passing second. Zelda couldn't stop looking, there was so much debris and trash in what was left of the lake.

"I think I found the missing wagons..." Zelda whispered softly. In fact, there were bodies in the lake too. "...and the guards..."

Impa stiffened and looked to the guards. "Two of you will go fetch two wagons immediately and more guards. We will need all the help we can get. Go. Now!"

"Right away general!" Two guards rode off as fast as they could following every order they were given. Zelda tore her vision away from the brutal scene and instead turned to the mouth of the of the river, once usually pouring with water, it barely dribbled at this point. She got off her horse and walked up to the bridge peering down, the water beating against the valley and against all of the debris that clogged the mouth of the river.

"Impa, I think I found the problem."

"I see it. I'll go fetch some bombs, that should clear this away quickly."

The remaining guards began to break away Zelda looked down to the exploding debris, her heart ached suddenly, something was very very wrong. It was unexplainable. She felt abandoned and lost, alone and exhausted, afraid and cold. Her mind seemed to float away for a minute, when she became aware again she had collapsed onto her knees coughing and sputtering, she was so cold and wet, she couldn't breathe. Something was smothering her. She could hear Impa, but it sounded as if she was speaking from miles away. She could make out Impa calling her name, she could make out the blasts of the bombs, but she couldn't distinguish any of it. It all sounded the same, yet she could hear it wasn't.

She couldn't fight it, she closed her eyes and started to succumb to it. Her mind became fuzzy and distant. It hurt to be awake. It hurt to be alive. She wanted it to stop. When she opened her eyes she could see herself, just way above her. She wanted to gasp, but at the same time she couldn't.

Seemingly an instant later she came too and peered to the side of the bridge looking under the crashing waves.

"Princess?! Are you-"

"Stop! There's someone down there! They are alive!" Zelda cried as she pointed to the faint image of someone on the bottom of the lake. It was a child, their eyes were barely open, but Zelda could feel their life force drifting away.

The guards stopped and Impa dived into the water swimming effortlessly to the bottom. She picked the child up and swam to the top quickly, pulling the child up with her to the shore. Zelda ran over to the blonde headed boy watching eagerly as Impa began to revive the child.

"Get me a fairy, now!" Impa commanded as she felt the boys pulse. She was given a bottle and she broke it open watching the pink sprite eagerly heal the child. As soon as her magic touched the boy, his eyes shot open and he gasped a breath, sputtering out water from his lungs as he struggled to breathe.

Zelda felt tears prick her eyes, the boy crashed back to the dirt breathing heavily as he fell unconscious again. The princess felt her heart shatter as there on his left hand glowing weakly, the Triforce of Courage shined.


End file.
